Maliki with girl

Iraqi Prime Minister's Office / AFP/Getty Images

A girl greets Nouri Maliki during the opening of Baghdad Day festivities this month. Thousands of Sunni and Shiite Arabs took to the streets across Iraq that day to defend Maliki against criticism from leaders of Iraq's Kurdish minority.

A girl greets Nouri Maliki during the opening of Baghdad Day festivities this month. Thousands of Sunni and Shiite Arabs took to the streets across Iraq that day to defend Maliki against criticism from leaders of Iraq's Kurdish minority. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Office / AFP/Getty Images)

A girl greets Nouri Maliki during the opening of Baghdad Day festivities this month. Thousands of Sunni and Shiite Arabs took to the streets across Iraq that day to defend Maliki against criticism from leaders of Iraq's Kurdish minority.